Articles and News

It is common to see a restraint of trade clause in an employment agreement or an agreement for the sale and purchase of a business. But what about independent contractor agreements?
Can an independent contractor be subject to a restraint of trade?

National Research Bureau recently recorded that 130,000 businesses will be for sale in the next 10 years. This means business owners need to give the matter of sale or succession due consideration. Some business owners will have a succession plan - other won't...

^{[Photo:CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images, original author: Nick Youngson, Original Image]}

Who are vulnerable employees? And what extra protection do they have under the Employment Relations Act 2000?

Time and time again, we are approached by disgruntled business owners and dissatisfied customers to help resolve disputes arising from deals made on the basis of informal arrangements...

Anti-money laundering has recently been in the spotlight in New Zealand with the Ministry of Justice estimating that almost NZ$1.35 billion from fraud and illegal drugs is laundered through ordinary New Zealand businesses each year.

Some businesses supply their product to shops on credit and are paid later; sometimes only once the product sells.

Pause for one moment and consider what will happen to your business if, tomorrow, you are no longer around, or lack mental capacity, to run it.
 

Would you rather invest your time and money in your business, or in costly legal disputes? 
It’s a no brainer right? 

There are over 500,000 private companies in New Zealand. Their many shareholders obtained their shares in them either by subscribing to the initial share issue from the issuer or a secondary purchase from an existing shareholder who had failed to find a buyer following the pre-emptive process.

You may be aware that consumer law reform has been on Parliament’s agenda for some time now.  This year has seen a raft of amendments to existing legislation to strengthen consumer rights.  The unfair contract term reforms in the Fair Trading Act 1986 (Act), which came into force in March of this year, are of particular interest to businesses.  It is now unlawful to include an unfair term in a standard form consumer contract.